Man guilty of $445K theft from Aurora business, faces prison

A Kane County jury this week convicted an accountant of stealing $445,000 from an Aurora-based industrial gas supplier between March and May of 2016.

Darrell E. Willis, 26, of the 0-99 block of Shirley Court, Newark, in Kendall County, was convicted Wednesday of two counts of felony theft of between $100,000 and $500,000 after a three-day trial before Judge John Barsanti.

Willis was accused of stealing from the company Cyl-Tec Inc. by creating a fake business, registering it with the state and using a stamped signature of one of the Cyl-Tec owners to write checks from a Cyl-Tec account to the fake company. He later deposited the funds into an associated account and transferred the money into his personal account, authorities said.

"Financial crimes are not victimless crimes," state's attorney Joe McMahon said. "This defendant's criminal acts impeded the victims personally and professionally. Financial crimes have a ripple effect in the community and can cause real economic hardships, particularly to small businesses."

Willis remains free after posting $30,000 bond and will be sentenced March 29.

He faces a punishment ranging from probation to up to 15 years in prison, along with restitution.